Knight and Wand

Chapter 372 Alliance
Seahawk Harbor, West Bay County.

Ines looked out the window at the garden and sipped her black tea with crushed ice to cool off.

"Is there still no news from my brother?"

Hearing the princess's calm question, the intelligence officer lowered his head humbly.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. The people we planted in the royal court seem to have disappeared out of thin air."

The princess gently put down the teacup and looked away.

"Forget it, no need to test it anymore. No news is also a kind of news."

After saying that, she secretly thanked herself for escaping from the capital in time. Brother Eric's attitude became more and more strange, and she really couldn't understand what her elder brother had been doing during this period.

The death of his father seemed to make this elder brother, whom he had not seen for a long time, increasingly suspicious.

She suppressed her doubts and signaled the intelligence officer to leave. At this time, she heard the sound of a carriage coming from the front yard of the manor.

"Who's coming?"

The girl looked towards the avenue in the manor.

"It should be Count Ackerman. Before you came back, the Count sent a visiting invitation and said he would visit you in the next few days." The butler of the mansion leaned over and said respectfully.

Ines unfolded her fan and waved it gently. She naturally understood who "Mr. Sea Pig" was running to avoid again.

She had not originally planned to go to greet him, but remembering the time and space journey she had experienced with Leon not long ago, after some thought, she brushed off her skirt, stood up and walked out of the side hall.

In the main building lobby.

Ackerman asked the servants to hand over the visiting gifts to the steward of Her Royal Highness the Princess's manor, and then he could not wait to whisper where his "little lovers" hiding in the Sea Eagle Port City were now.

But before he could turn around to meet his sweetheart, he heard elegant footsteps coming from the curved escalator.

"You're here again. Xiwan County is not your refuge now. If you keep going like this, if your father comes after you, I won't have an excuse to stop him for you."

Ines stood on the corridor with her arms folded, teasing from a distance.

She looked at him and found that after not seeing him for a while, the fat guy had lost a lot of weight.

Ever since her father changed his plan to win over the West family through marriage before he was assassinated, the two of them no longer had an excuse to cover for each other, and she naturally had no obligation to help them deal with the old Duke of the Hailong family.

Seeing this little ancestor, Ackerman's slightly haggard fat face suddenly fell.

"Your Highness, you can't chase me away. I am a member of the Sea Eagle Knights after all. Sea Eagle Port is my only safe haven from my father."

Ines walked down the stairs slowly, shook her head and said, "It is your responsibility to take over the old Duke's position. No matter how long you try to evade or delay, you can't escape it. You have been free for four years. Haven't you had enough fun?"

Ackerman's expression froze instantly.

“殿下，您得帮我想想其他办法。多亏我这几年帮忙，您才有机会找到满意的心上人，您忘了我被敖拉德那混蛋揍得多惨吗？怎么能像扔掉用坏的盾牌一样丢掉我呢，我们可是朋友。”

The fat earl had a sad face. Ever since the late king terminated the marriage with the Wester family, his hard days began. Not only could he no longer enjoy the carefree life with the young servants in West Bay County, but after returning to Westral, he lost a lot of weight under the loving encouragement of his father.

Ines fanned herself with a folding fan to drive away the midsummer heat, and took a rare serious look at the shield she had used for four years.

"It is precisely because I consider you a friend that I advise you to face reality as soon as possible. Do you think that as the eldest son of the Duke of Wester, you can really stay out of the family? My brother, Prince Rickdor, is not even the first heir to the crown, but now you can see that the identity of the crown prince alone is enough to bring disaster."

Speaking of the harmless second brother, Ines' eyes dimmed slightly. She shook her head and continued to say to Ackerman: "If you are not prepared, you will definitely pay the price when fate comes. I didn't want to say anything more about you, but it doesn't hurt to talk about it now. Your father's patience will run out sooner or later. As far as I know, you and your brothers don't have a harmonious relationship. When the old duke was alive, they didn't dare to do anything to you, but what about now? Do you plan to live freely in my Xiwan County for the rest of your life?"

Ackerman scratched his head in annoyance, still frowning with hope, "Didn't we agree on this back then? I'll take up a sinecure in your Highness's Knights' Fortress. My brothers won't risk offending you and come to trouble me, will they?"

"That was the beginning. How could I have predicted that so many changes would happen inside and outside the kingdom four years later? Especially in the future, because you are a member of the Sea Eagle Knights, they are more likely to attack you."

Ines put away her fan and said, "You are the eldest son. If you can give up the dukedom, you naturally have the opportunity to take it back. Especially with my support, no matter which of your brothers becomes the ruler of Westral, they will not ignore your potential threat."

"But I won't do that, and you won't force me in the future, right? I don't want to be the head of the West family at all. I may not even have children. What threat can I pose?" Ackerman spread his hands in distress.

Ines raised her eyebrows noncommittally: "Suppose the Wester family becomes my enemy in the future, and I ask you to take back the Dukedom, as my knight, do you intend to disobey the orders of your lord?"

Ackerman was stunned, opened his mouth, and was at a loss for a moment.

"Let's assume that after your brother becomes the Duke of West, he threatens me with alliance or hostility to eliminate hidden dangers and asks me to turn a blind eye to your affairs. How should I respond?"

Ines's pleasant voice exuded unquestionable majesty and was somewhat aggressive.

Ackerman met the girl's cold gaze and felt a chill on his back.

Ines said this, slightly restraining her overly aggressive look.

"Do you understand? You may face countless choices like this in the future. If you back down, you will only transfer your fate from your father's hands to mine or someone else's.

I know you want comfort and don't want to disappoint your family, so you keep running away. But everything in this world has a price. You can either take the risk of being out of your control in the future, or, like a true knight, shoulder the responsibilities you should bear and master the power you should control. "

The resounding admonition made Ackerman's shoulders droop instinctively.

He didn't even dare to look into the eyes of the Third Princess. He felt that the sharp gaze was just like that of His Majesty Redwin and he couldn't look directly at it.

After a long while, he murmured helplessly, "Your Highness, I have always only liked to have fun and have no ability to take over my father's position. You know, I have neither the talent to govern the territory nor the ability to lead troops to fight invincible battles like you and Lord Leon.

I can't even imagine myself sitting on my father's throne and giving orders. If the Norsemen come, I'm afraid my legs will go weak in fear in the castle. I don't have the prestige to control the important officials in the family. I know they all laugh at me, a fat pig, how can I become a sea dragon that rules Westerland..."

"No, you can."

Ines interrupted his self-pity. Ackerman was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "I wish I could believe in myself like you do."

Ines put away her fan and waved the handle decorated with a pendant. "I am not believing you, nor am I encouraging you. I am just stating a 'known' fact. You can indeed become a competent lord, better than you think. Moreover, becoming a qualified lord is not as difficult as you think, and you don't even need to have outstanding talents. Having been by my side for these years, I know that you have a quality that is very rare among the nobles."

"What quality?"

"kindness."

"You mean...weak?" Ackerman said self-deprecatingly.

Ines had a dangerous smile on her face and narrowed her long eyelashes: "If you talk back again, I promise to let Agatha practice wrestling with you today."

The female knight standing behind the little princess snapped her knuckles at the right moment, and Ackerman was so frightened that he quickly smiled and waved his hands to shut up.

Without further nagging, Ines sighed and switched back to a gentle tone between friends: "In fact, most of the time, a ruler who doesn't mess with civilians is already qualified enough. As for military and political issues, the Wester family has many excellent knights and staff, you just need to ask them for advice. Besides, you regard me as a friend, and I will naturally give you appropriate advice when you encounter difficulties. As a knight who has followed me for so long, you should believe in my ability, right?"

The girl unfolded her folding fan again and shook it gently: "Think carefully about what I said during this time. Think about it, if you become the Duke of West, then as a friend of equal status, you won't have to be as afraid of me as you are now, right?"

After some exhortation, Ines turned and left, leaving Ackerman with a bitter face and a lot of thoughts in his mind.

Ines, who had seen the future three years in advance, knew that although the old Duke of Wester seemed strong now, he actually had not much time left. If nothing unexpected happened, he would probably die in a few months.

Three years later, the whispers I whispered to her were not all about teaching her how to control her lover.

Even though there are many differences between the two destinies, some things are still worth referring to. In that time and space, there were talented generals who emerged in the Civil War between the North and the South, many outstanding knights, and even hidden dangers that had not occurred in the Knights Templar, and some potential betrayers. A journey to the future three years later gave her a lot of information in advance.

In another time and space, Ackerman proved himself to be qualified for the position of Duke during the civil war in the kingdom.
It turns out that people are forced to do things.

If the other party can make up his mind as soon as possible and prepare to become the ruler of Westral, he will have a powerful ally.

The various strange actions taken by her brother after he ascended the throne made Ines feel an inexplicable sense of crisis.

It would be unwise to stop the court mage training program entrusted to Leon by his father.

The news sent back from the capital a while ago made her feel even more puzzled. Her brother actually asked Uncle Trosa to go south to Usato Territory at this time when he was about to lead his army north to call the Warlock Society to account?
The people sent to contact the puppet king Casso were unable to find the real master, and there was a weird atmosphere inside and outside the Orlando Royal Court.

Could it be that there are jesters around my brother who are fanning the flames of the crisis the kingdom has just experienced?
"Your Highness!"

A call interrupted her thoughts. Ines looked back and saw the intelligence officer who had just left hurried back to the mansion.

"It's a pigeon message from Sobornitz."

"A letter from the Alliance?" Ines took the small scroll and unfolded it to examine it.

Staring at the few brief messages from afar on the paper, the girl's expression suddenly changed.

Count Trosa was assassinated.
Leon and Olivia were attacked and disappeared.
The demonic disaster continues in the south of Kantardar. The Alliance gathers the Crusade Army and marches south.
None of the three pieces of news were trivial, especially when Ines saw that Leon was attacked and missing, her heart suddenly tightened.

Clutching the note tightly, she somewhat lost her composure, and her first reaction was to summon vassals from all over the country and call on the army to assemble immediately and march to Sobornitz.

But after taking two steps, the girl's head cooled down slightly. She took a deep breath to calm down, pinched the fan, and suddenly turned to the servant and ordered:
"Arrange a fast horse and notify the Knight Commander to assemble the troops. I will go to the northern fortress of North County immediately!"

The attendant who received the order hurried to pass on the message, and she hurried to the dressing room, took off her light dress, and put on the armor and military uniform she had not seen for a long time.

Having already reminded Earl North to make preparations early, she had no intention of personally intervening in her brother's armed accountability of the Warlock Society.

But now it seems that she may urgently need the power of the warlocks.

Thousands of miles away, in the land east of Kantadar, armies began to move, converging from all directions towards the border of Kachin County under Sobonitz.

Because they are extremely sensitive to the movements of the Undead Army and have never relaxed their preparations for war for more than a year, the Crusade Army's response is much faster than that of the army of any ordinary kingdom.

Tens of thousands of Crusade soldiers assembled in the southern part of the Alliance-ruled area. The scale of the march was so huge that several Kantadar lords at the border of the Usato Mountain Pass were frightened, and they mistakenly believed that the Alliance had declared war on the kingdom, and they fled back to the Usato territory overnight.

Large camps with flying military flags stretched out across the land, with tens of thousands of Alliance soldiers, all wearing armor and holding sharp weapons, creating an unprecedented momentum.

In the central army tent, Ivan, the arbitrator who was temporarily acting as the commander-in-chief of the entire army, was wearing a griffin armor robe and sitting at the top.

Azerien and Lohak, as representatives of Avalon, sat next to Ivan.

On both sides were the Alliance Archons Count Runaf and Baron David, as well as other Crusade lords.

The generals gathered together kept their eyes on the open tent door, as if waiting for something.

The sound of flapping wings, the roar of giant eagles, and the neighing of pegasus horses could be faintly heard in the military tent.

Soon, the footsteps were getting closer.

Two rows of holy war knights holding halberds outside the door let the envoy pass.

Tall knights and priests in white robes, as well as several knights in brown slate robes with gold patterns, walked into the military tent.

Led by Ivan, the members of the Jihad Army stood up and saluted to welcome the envoys from all parties who were invited.

"The commander of the Guards of the Serian Diocese, the Holy See Knight Ankadio, is here today on behalf of Archbishop Alec."

The tall knight in the white robe of the Holy Sun spoke the language of Firul with a strong Dineshien accent.

His gaze lingered on the griffin emblem of Ivan and other holy war knights. This army, which was said to have saved the Holy Land of the Prophet, now used the Holy Sun Beast as its totem, which made him feel a little favorable towards it.

Another heroic young man in brown battle robes immediately beat his chest and saluted: "I am the crown prince of the Feru Kingdom, Karl Parviz, and I come to the alliance with you on behalf of my father."

(End of this chapter)